Why Psychedelic Researchers Should Not Push Back Against Decriminalization, Claudia Schwarz-Plaschg, Ph.D.
May 26, 2020
Why Psychedelic Researchers Should Not Push Back Against Decriminalization
-Claudia Schwarz-Plaschg, Ph.D.
2019 will go down in the History of Psychedelia as a major tipping point in the collective effort to turn Western societies again into legal zones for the use of psychedelic plants and fungi. The year marks the success of the first two citywide decriminalization initiatives for naturally- occurring psychedelics in the United States: psilocybin mushrooms in Denver, Colorado; and psychedelic plants and fungi in Oakland, California (Santa Cruz followed Oakland at the beginning of 2020). This means that the cultivation, possession, and consumption of these plants and fungi by adults has officially become the lowest law-enforcement priority. Similar efforts are incubating in dozens of cities across the US, and two statewide ballot initiatives in Oregon are currently campaigning for a model that would make psilocybin legally available under (non-medical) supervision in specific centers, and overall drug decriminalization, respectively.
READ MORE: Why Psychedelic Researchers Should Not Push Back Against Decriminalization